Search the GTU

by Doug Davidson
When Uriah Kim first visited the Graduate Theological Union as a prospective doctoral student in the spring of 1998, he sensed immediately that it was a special place, pulsing with the vitality of serious intellectual and spiritual discovery. “I remember meeting with GTU students and alumni on Holy Hill, and I could immediately sense the energy. The GTU is a place that stimulates your mind, your spirit—everything.”
Today, just ten years after earning his doctorate in Biblical Studies, the GTU’s 2013-2014 alumnus of the year seeks to bring that same energy and scholarly...

Remarks by graduate Courtney Bruntz, Ph.D., Cultural and Historical Studies of ReligionGTU Commencement, May 8, 2014
Strange...
Gotta say: I'm feeling a little bit strange right now. It’s great to finally be done, but yet it’s strange.
Strange...That which is strange is unusual, curious, odd, peculiar, funny, or something that just makes us go 'huh.'
I first realized I was strange when in my sophomore year of college I had the opportunity to study abroad in China and Japan - two locations at the time I really didn't know much about, nor did I speak either language, and I readily jumped at...

Faculty address by Dr. Marion Grau, Associate Professor of Theology, Church Divinity School of the Pacific GTU Commencement, May 8, 2014
President Potterveld, Chairman Leach, Dean Holder, Dean Kook, Presidents and Deans of the Consortial Schools. Dear colleagues, family and friends, distinguished graduates, and graduating student speaker, Dr. Courtney Bruntz: it is an honor and privilege to share this time with you and I congratulate you for your achievements.
Welcome especially to former graduates, friends and family! We are so grateful for your support and encouragement of these our...

from Currents Fall 2014
The founding documents of the Graduate Theological Union describe a mission that is both ecumenical and interfaith. For more than five decades, we have lived into that mission, but today our foot is definitely on the accelerator. We are currently offering our first courses on Hindu sacred texts and Hindu comparative ethics; we hope to offer our first courses in Sikh Studies as soon as next year. The purpose of these new initiatives is to increase the representation at the GTU table of all of the major religious traditions of the world, so that scholar-practitioners...

Dr. Eugene Eung-Chun Park, Dana and Dave Dornsife Professor of New Testament at San Francisco Theological Seminary, will be heading to Hong Kong this month for his third year as a mentor to young scholars through the Institute for Advanced Study in Asian Cultures and Theologies (IASACT). He will spend 6 weeks helping scholars refine and publish articles on a variety of topics in humanities and social sciences in the Asian Context.
Park first attended the Institute as a participant in 2004, and was connected to the program through Phillip Wickeri, a former professor of World Christianity at...

Jake Lavarone seemed to spend his last days in a peaceful repose. Attended by the best medical professionals with his loving family always by his side, Jake appeared to be going out in the best way possible. Yet it is whispered that his decline might not have been natural after all. His death calls attention to a long silence over an incident from the Great Depression that both protects and entraps his family.
Father Brendan Byrne, a determined academic sleuth, makes his way into the family secrets. In his unobtrusive, delicate manner, he gathers a wealth of clues and motives, which range...

Virginia Burrus (GTU Ph.D. ’91, History) is leaving Drew University for a named chair at Syracuse. The announcement is at http://religion.syr.edu/About/NewsAccolades.html and it says:
Virginia Burrus has been appointed the Bishop W. Earl Ledden Professor in the Department of Religion. Prof. Burrus is a well-known scholar of religion in late antiquity. She has authored or co-authored seven books and more than sixty journal articles or book chapters. She will assume responsibility in the Department for teaching courses in ancient Christianities and Greco-Roman religions, starting August, 2013...

Sarlo Award-winner Dr. Munir Jiwa reflects on art and Muslim identity, interreligious dialogue, and the growth of the GTU’s Center for Islamic Studies
From the Fall 2015 issue of Currents
What does it mean to be Muslim, and how does Islamic tradition find expression in contemporary life? Some might expect to find the answer to such questions by visiting a mosque or speaking with an imam. But throughout his academic career, Dr. Munir Jiwa has sought to address these questions more expansively. “Being Muslim is not just a theological commitment,” says Jiwa, “it can also be a cultural or...

On May 7, forty-four graduates were honored at the GTU's 2015 commencement ceremony at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary's Chapel of the Cross in Berkeley, California. Twenty-four graduates received the Master of Arts degree, three the Master of Arts with a concentration in Biblical Languages, and seventeen the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Graduates are listed below by degree and include their thesis title, area of study or school of affiliation, committee members, and thesis abstract; language specialization is noted for MABL graduates in lieu of thesis information.
Master of ArtsFr....

Berkeley, CA - The Board of Trustees of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) has announced the election of Riess Potterveld as the next president of the GTU. Dr. Potterveld, who has served as the GTU’s acting president since July 1, 2013, was elected by the unanimous vote of attending board members at a meeting on June 20, 2014.
GTU Board chair Hal Leach commented, “Throughout his year as acting president, Riess Potterveld has worked tirelessly to create new partnerships, open new possibilities, and expand the representation of the world’s religious traditions at the Graduate Theological...

by Arthur Holder
At its February 2014 meeting, the GTU Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution that affirms the interreligious nature of the Graduate Theological Union and opens the way for other religious traditions to join the Protestant, Catholic, Unitarian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Muslim communities already represented here. The statement highlighted the representation of the world’s diverse religious traditions as essential to the GTU’s nature and integral to its mission. It went on to encourage the GTU President to work to “expand and foster representation of the world’s great...

October 30, 2014, Berkeley, CA — At its meeting on October 29, 2014, the Board of Trustees of the Graduate Theological Union reviewed a series of recommendations from a consulting firm regarding the school’s current and future programming. The board has announced several key decisions that will strengthen the GTU’s status as a premier center for the study of the world’s major religious traditions.
The Board strongly endorsed a plan presented by President Riess Potterveld that includes eight different initiatives to expand the academic centers and programs of the GTU. These initiatives...

An institution of higher learning unlike any other, the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley brings together scholars of the world’s diverse religions and wisdom traditions to advance new knowledge, share inspiration, and collaborate on solutions.